Team 18 has pulled the covers off a “fan-inspired” Indigenous livery for the Mark Winterbottom Chevrolet Camaro Supercar.
Kalkadoon artist Chern’ee Sutton has created the new look for the #18 DeWalt Camaro which will be run not only at Supercars’ official Indigenous round, next week’s Betr Darwin Triple Crown, but also the NTI Townsville 500 event which follows.
It is her latest work after designing Winterbottom’s 2022 Indigenous livery, official branding for the upcoming FIFA Women’s World Cup, and a commemorative coin for the Queensland Government House.
The 2023 Supercar design is said to be drawn from her experience attending last year’s NTI Townsville 500, and seeing her work on track.
The centrepiece of the creation is a sun with the community symbol in the centre representing the wheels, while the yellow sun rays signifying race tracks and circuits.
White lines are travelling lines and represent the communities and regions that Team 18 travels to, from the coast and the mountains to the outback and bush.
Kangaroo and emu footprints symbolise the drivers and racing teams always moving forwards, never backwards, and the handprint represents the traditional custodians of the land.
The boomerang signifies the teams and their supporters returning year after year to compete, and the dots in the background symbolise the spectators and supporters.
Sutton, who flew from Bundaberg to Melbourne in order to attend the unveil at Team 18’s Mount Waverley base, and will also be at the Darwin event, said, “I feel incredibly proud to be involved again.
“I never thought I’d ever see my artwork on a race car, and now I get to do it two years in a row, so that’s an incredibly special feeling for me and the Indigenous round is something that I’m really honoured to be a part of again.
“It’s such an important round and it puts a lot of our artists in the spotlight with all the amazing artwork on the liveries for all the teams.
“My inspiration for this year’s design was representing the passion of Supercars fans attending the indigenous round, as well as the bright future of Team 18, Frosty and DeWalt.
“I did implement a few of my experiences from last year and seeing the race in person in Townsville.
“It was really fun doing this year’s design too because it was a change in colour scheme with the red, the yellow, and the black, which is also the colours of the Aboriginal flag.”
Winterbottom added, “We’re very lucky that Chern’ee takes the time and puts the effort into doing what she does, and it’s an absolute piece of art, but also the story behind it is amazing.
“I really enjoy that because obviously when people see the car, they see it for what it is, but the story behind it is so much more than the colours and the design.
“I think the DeWalt car will be one of the best-looking, if not the best-looking, car when we hit the track in Darwin.
“Chern’ee tells the story really well and it’s each little individual element that has a reason and a story behind it about communities coming together for this event. It’s a very positive artwork that’s been portrayed on our car.
“I’m honoured to represent it and she’s very proud of her history and heritage, so to put it on the car means a lot to her, and that means a lot to me to represent.
“I think Darwin and indigenous round go hand in hand. I think it’s been received really well and lots of people come and watch that race from around the country. It was a huge success last year and I think it’s important for the sport to have these iconic events, whether it’s indigenous round or retro round or whatever it is that creates something special for each place we visit.
“As a team we represent it really well with both cars. Each car has a different story and a different background.
“There’s a lot of positivity with my story and one of them is about leading the footsteps to victory, so that’ll be the goal for us at Hidden Valley.”
The Darwin Triple Crown takes place at Hidden Valley Raceway on June 16-18.
GALLERY: Team 18 Supercars Indigenous livery for Car #18
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